Introduction

Sue Suprianos Steppin Out of Babylon is a radio interview series covering a broad range of important issues in todays world: peace and war, human and civil rights, communication, the media, the environment, food security, racism, globalization, immigration and matters of the spirit. Over 250 shows are available at this site!

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Greg Watson

The Urgency of Sustainable Development and Renewable Energy Solutions During Climate Change

Greg Watson is Vice President for Sustainable Development and Renewable Energy at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. He works with the Renewable Energy Trust Fund and leads the Offshore Wind Initiative for them. Watson has been Executive Director of The New Alchemy Institute, The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative and the Nature Conservancy Eastern Regional Office. He was also Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture.

This show focuses on the issue of the rapidity and seriousness of effects of climate change and the urgency of getting renewable energy in place of fossil fuel use since fossil fuel use makes climate change speed up even more and oil is peaking (becoming much harder to access!!) as well. Though people tend to have their heads in the sand about this issue even the New York Times is writing about it as insurance companies are canceling people's insurance. The companies understand that the amount of damage which will occur from the computer predicted growing intensity of storms in the future is beyond their ability to cover. Places in the Arctic are now barren that have been under water and ice, methane is being released, things are moving faster and faster and are unpredictable. The pace of climate change is too fast for us to adapt to -- eg., agriculture is so centralized. Things are in a dire state and the Federal Government is fiddling while the changing environment and it's affects on people are burning. Watson talks a lot about the lack of government response to the disasters caused by Katrina and Rita hurricanes, how racism and lack of social justice result in blatent racist policies and how poor people suffer most in such emergencies. He says there is a growing lack of trust of the US Government.

States are more likely to come up with solutions and try to wean us from fossil fuel use. Natural gas has also peaked, energy rates are going up and up and, again, who is most hurt are the poor who have no place to turn. People can't live in Massachusetts without heat. It is a dire situation and there is no energy plan.

It is looking like Northern Europe might have an ice age as the warmer gulf waters go further and further north, thus speeding up the imbalance of the water temperature which can reach a "tipping point" and lead to an ice age. Watson says that even though there is no magic answer there are things that can be done to lessen the impact of these severe climate changes. His organization promotes using less, green buildings, solar, biomass, and most of all wind which is the fastest growing source of renewable energy in the world because it can compete with coal and natural gas in terms of cost.
Wind is how we can build utility scale renewable energy on a big scale which is crucial! Unfortunately some agencies in Massachusetts are holding off on giving the final ok to build the offshore windmills in Massachusetts and, shockingly, it's in large part due to the windmills being in view of some rich people who don't seem to understand that climate change affects everyone. We are at the point now where we need to concentrate on minimizing it's affects for everyone.